Rebroadcast — In Focus: Equity in Education

Children of color in Minnesota face some of the worst education disparities in the U.S., and attempts to solve the decades-long problem have so far proven unsuccessful.

“In terms of the white-Black gap, we are the 50th in the nation, or the 49th, depending on which year you look at,” said Anusha Nath, research economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and co-author of a 2019 report on the gaps.

“Many states struggle with achievement gaps as well, but Minnesota has been struggling for a very long time, and we're at the bottom persistently,” Nath said.

This week, we’re revisiting recent conversations we’ve had about Minnesota’s persistent racial disparities. In this rebroadcast of an event in MPR News’ In Focus series, Nath and several other experts spoke to host Angela Davis about racial disparities in education.

They discussed obstacles to education equity in Minnesota and solutions that are showing promise.

To watch a video recording of the conversation, check out the original In Focus post here.

Guests:

• Jess Davis is a racial equity coach for St. Louis Park Public Schools and worked as a math teacher in the Twin Cities metro area from 2006 to 2020. She was the 2019 Minnesota Teacher of the Year.

• Samantha N. Diaz is the former legislative and policy director for education issues at the Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs, a state agency that advises and informs the governor and legislators on matters of importance to Latinos in Minnesota. She previously served as the associate charter liaison at the Pillsbury United Communities Office of Public Charter Schools.

• Anusha Nath is a research economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. She co-authored the 2019 report "A Statewide Crisis: Minnesota’s Education Achievement Gaps," and continues to research the reasons behind the state's educational disparities. She has previously taught at Boston University, Delhi University and the University of Minnesota.

• Ramona Kitto Stately is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Dakota Nation and project director for We Are Still Here Minnesota, which aims to change the narrative around Native people in the state. She also chairs the Minnesota Indian Education Association and has worked in Indian education in Minnesota for more than 15 years.

• Michael Walker is the director of Black Student Achievement for Minneapolis Public Schools. Before that, he worked in several capacities at Roosevelt High School, including as assistant principal. He was a 2017 Bush Fellow and previously served as community outreach, program and youth development director at the YMCA in the Twin Cities.

Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.

MPR News’ In Focus is a series of convenings we are committed to leading on Minnesota’s persistent racial disparities. Through conversations with community leaders that are shaped by our curious, engaged audience, MPR News hopes to encourage new connections and relationships that will help Minnesota communities make progress toward equity and inclusion.

Editor’s note: This program originally aired in October 2020 and was rebroadcast on May 13, 2021.